India reclaimed the series lead by bowling South Africa  out for 117 in seam-friendly conditions in Dharamsala. Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, the latter playing in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was on leave for personal reasons, set the tone with three early wickets, and the support bowlers never let up. Aiden Markram kept South Africa in the fight with a half-century, but they were at least 20 runs short of what could have been a fighting total, keeping in mind their strong seam attack. Once Abhishek Sharma scored 35 off 18 balls, India could afford a wobble in the rest of the chase.

Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube cashed in on the conditions with a wicket each in their first overs, but it was Varun Chakravarth’s four overs for 11 runs and two wickets that denied South Africa any chance of creeping back into the match. One of his victims was Donovon Ferreira, the only other recognised batter to reach double digits.

Arshdeep went for 0 for 54 in the last match, bowled an unending over, and was now without Bumrah. His first over was an example of how to bowl if you get that rare pitch that helps you in T20 cricket. He bowled three balls to Reeza Hendricks, all on a similar good length on middle and leg. Two of them seamed away to beat his outside edge, and the third nipped back in to trap him in front.

Rana swung the ball late, got some seam movement as well, but his wickets were slightly inexplicable. Quinton de Kock missed a straight and full delivery, and Dewald Brevis dragged on a long wide half volley, making it 7 for 3 in 3.1 overs.

Markram and Tristan Stubbs saw through the rest of the powerplay, but Stubbs never looked at home. In his first over, Pandya drew just enough nibble to take Stubbs’ outside edge to make it 30 for 4. Corbin Bosch, one of the three batters dropped in the field, missed the first ball from Dube by a long way: a 124kph length ball that nipped back to hit the top of middle.

In the 12th over of the innings, Ferreira hit a Kuldeep wrong’un for a no-look six, the first boundary of the innings by a batter not named Markram. This was the first time India had to deal with two threatening batters. The sixth wicket added 25 runs, but Varun got rid of Ferreira with a wrong’un that he missed by a mile. Varun repeated that dismissal in his next over, this time to a defensive push from Marco Jansen.

Dube had two catches missed off his bowling. While Ferreira couldn’t cause much damage, Markram went on to punish Rana in the 18th over, thus bringing up his fifty and taking South Africa past 100. It was all on Markram’s bat now to take South Africa to 140, a total they could have been competitive with. However, he ended up edging a slot ball from Arshdeep in the 19th over, leaving Kuldeep two tailend wickets to feast on in the last over.

Swivelling inside the line of the first ball and pulling Lungi Ngidi over fine leg for a six, Abhishek set the tone for the chase. He charged at Ngidi for a four in the same over, and went one better with a six off Jansen in the next. When Abhishek hit Ottneil Baartman for a six in the fifth over, he brought up India’s fifty and went to 44 sixes in the first six overs of T20I innings, level with KL Rahul, who did so in more than twice than the matches. Rohit Sharma is the only Indian with more sixes in the first six overs.

The low target allowed Abhishek’s opening partner Shubman Gill time to play himself in, but neither he nor Tilak Varma ever looked set with plenty of seam movement available. Suryakumar Yadav hit two fours, but managed only 12 off 11 balls. When Abhishek was at the wicket, 60 runs came in 5.2 overs; the rest of the match featured 177 in 30.3 overs. Twenty more runs for South Africa, and/or an early departure for Abhishek could have made this a much closer affair.

Brief scores:

India 120 for 3 in 15.5 overs  (Abhishek  Sharma 35, Shubman Gill 28, Tilak Varma 26*,  Suryakumar Yadav 12, Shivam Dube 10*;  Lungi Ngidi  1-23, Marco Jansen  1-24, Corbin Bosch 1-18) beat South Africa 117 in 20 overs  (Aiden Markram 61, Donovan Ferreira 20, Anrich Nortje 12; Varun Chakravarthy  2-11, Kuldeep Yadav 2-12, Arshdeep Singh 2-13, Harshit Rana 2-34, Hardik Pandya 1-23, Shivam Dube1-21) by seven wickets

(Cricinfo)

The Ashes in Australia in recent times has been a one-way street, with England repeatedly finding themselves on the wrong side of the traffic. In 2007 they were steamrollered 5-0; in 2014 another whitewash followed. The last two tours, in 2018 and 2022, ended 4-0. This time around, too, England appear to be staring down the barrel unless someone conjures up an Ian Botham-esque rescue act. In 1981, in what came to be known as Botham’s Ashes, England were teetering on the brink before their most charismatic cricketer turned the series on its head.

Ironically, this was England’s best shot at winning an Ashes series in Australia for decades. On paper, they had ticked most of the boxes. They had unearthed a couple of fast bowlers capable of matching Australia’s pace, boasted a fit all-rounder and inspirational leader in Ben Stokes and arrived brimming with confidence. Then, almost inexplicably, they pressed the self-destruct button from day one. By unleashing Bazball — a high-octane, take the game by the scruff of the neck approach that thumbed its nose at tradition — England challenged the game’s old order. The problem was, it backfired spectacularly. Heading into the third Test in Adelaide, there is a real danger that the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the New Year Test in Sydney will be reduced to dead rubbers.

Bazball had worked, no question about that — but largely against soft opposition. Pathum Nissanka’s sublime hundred at The Oval last year, which powered Sri Lanka to a rare Test win in England, was a case in point. England had made life easier for the visitors. In seaming conditions, when the ball was jagging around corners, their batting resembled a drunken sailor hitting the streets — all bravado, little judgment.

There was, undeniably, an air of arrogance about England’s approach. And as the old adage goes, pride comes before a fall and this has been a mighty tumble.

England had their moments in the first Test in Perth. They were ahead of the game going into the lunch break on day two. Test cricket in Perth nowadays is no longer played at the old WACA, that cauldron of pace and bounce. The Optus Stadium is an architectural marvel, bristling with state-of-the-art facilities, but it remains a notoriously tough place to bat in the opening days. England chose to ignore that reality. Convinced their aggressive methods could trump history and conditions, they believed they could bludgeon their way out of trouble. It was a grave miscalculation.

Lahiru Kumara, Sri Lanka’s fast bowler, summed it up neatly last year in England when, after dismissing a free-wheeling batter in seaming conditions, he asked: “Do you think this is T20 cricket?” That question has echoed loudly in Australia. What might work on England’s smaller grounds is a recipe for disaster on Australia’s vast expanses, where mistimed shots die in the deep and bowlers are rewarded for patience. How England failed to grasp such a basic truth defies comprehension.

England’s defiance of common sense extended beyond tactics. Take the case of Jamie Smith. He represents Surrey in First Class cricket but does not keep wickets for them; that job is handled by the reliable Ben Foakes, while Smith plays as a specialist batter. Yet at Test level, Smith is deemed good enough to don the gloves for England. It is the sort of bold call that may pass muster against fragile opposition, but against a hardened Australian side it left England exposed.

After the humiliation in Australia four years ago, heads rolled in England. There is a sense of déjà vu about this tour, with history threatening to repeat itself. England arrived believing they could change the script with bravado alone. Instead, they have been hoist by their own petard — undone not by lack of talent, but by an arrogance that refused to play the situation.

by Rex Clementine